Ain't No Mountain High Enough

So, I have been living in Africa for a month now. Wow, I still have a difficult time buying that sentence. Even though I can scarcely remember a time before I was here in Rwanda, it just isn't possible that it's already been a month! Even though I constantly feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants, school and teaching is racing by. I need to start writing more stuff down, because it all happens so quickly and instantaneously, I can hardly remember it to share with you fine people.

Where we last left off, our amazing African adventurer was amidst her 1^st week of teaching at Kigali International Community School, and somewhere between pulling her own hair out and doing cartwheels down the dusty, yet endearing, Rwandan streets. Life in Africa is quite the emotional roller coaster full of both intense frustrations and exhilarating escapades. After our first week of teaching, my fellow teachers and I were all doubting whether or not we made the correct career choices. Now, I realize the Freedom-Writing-Stand-and-Deliver-Dead-Poet's-Mr. Holland teacher would never doubt their calling, and rise to the challenge and send every student to Harvard within a month, but I am simply being honest with you (we're just that close, I know you won't tell). All of us had such little time to plan and scarcely any of the resources we've become accustomed to, and had such grand visions of the perfect first week of school that we simply could not pull off to the extent we so desired. And without much direction (in the way of textbooks, which are still non-existent) it becomes quite difficult and exhausting to plan meaningful, interesting, non-time wasting,and FUN lessons for those pesky (yet so wonderful) students :) We stayed at school working every evening, well past dark, and would leave our house at quarter to six each morning, determined to be the amazing life changing teachers we know we are.

Now, I don't mean to sound whiny, or that this particular post is a “complaint post”, but just a glimpse into my head as I went through the first week of teaching here in Rwanda. And even though teaching here is ENTIRELY different than teaching back in the states, I know my first week of being a teacher would be just as difficult anywhere. It has been almost 3 full weeks of teaching now, and to be honest, each day has become so much less stressful than the last. I've found my “niche” again, and am really having a ball. My kids are SO much fun, and really keep me on my toes :) I got two new students this week, a boy from Kazakhstan and a girl from Finland (who scarcely speaks a lick of English – good times). The boy, Alexander, was moved up from 3^rd grade into our class this week, and today at lunch I asked him how he is liking 4^th grade. He answered “Oh, I love it. I really, really love it. More than 3^rd grade, I think. You know, because in 4^th grade we work very, very hard. But this makes it more interesting for me.” Well said, Alex, well said. Just what I needed to hear :)

So all in all, it has been an amazing month. This past weekend, we had a 3-day weekend, and my roommates and I were invited to join one of the missionary families, the Jenkins, on a one day trip to Lake Kivu, on the border of Rwanda and Congo. We were a bit hesitant to go, because there is always so much to do, but we ended up all going, and it was AMAZING. I can't even begin to describe to you the beauty of the lake, as well as the Rwandan countryside as we drove up there. Luckily, I don't have to describe it, because you can look at some pictures! I set up a Picasa web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/cmtolon/MyLifeAsAMuzungu#. I recommend you check it out.

Well, I'd love to tell you more about absolutely everything that's been going on here, but I doubt anybody actually reads to the end of these posts, so I won't. Plus, it's 10 pm, and I have to plan what some 4^th graders are going to be doing tomorrow :) Our books still haven't arrived, but I'm having fun with it for now. It's nice not to be bound by silly standards and texts and actually teach applicable and relevant content...

OH, one more quick story – Here in Kigali, one of the quickest (and more importantly, cheapest) ways to get around is by “moto”, which is simply a motorcycle taxi that takes you all over town. The process is simple – you flag one down, tell them where you want to go, haggle over the price and laugh at each other's ridiculous offers (yours are always too low, theirs – too high), slip on the helmet, jump on, and off you go. Well, we had been using these to get to and from school for a couple weeks, against the advice of several veteran Rwandan expatriates, who said they were too dangerous. But being the adventurous (and by adventurous, I mean cheapskate) gal I am, I continued with the moto. And of course, I now bear the mark of the average Rwandan moto rider – a nasty burn scar on my inner calf from where my leg touched the muffler. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And on top of it, after my trip to Lake Kivu where we were on the beach all day with a large band aid covering my deformation, I know have a large square shaped tan line around the wound, making it all the more noticeable. It looks like some sort of mutant target on my leg. Oh well, you live, you learn.

Love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!

Who Needs Sleep?

I've only got a few short minutes to write this, as the school day starts in about 10 minutes, and I have to be a teacher :)

First, I've been getting a tremendous amount of requests for my address here (that is lie - mainly from my mom and Abby), so here it is!

Cady Tolon

B.P. 6558

Kigali, Rwanda

That is actually the P.O. box for the school, since they don't really have a mail system here like we're used to in the US.  They don't really have streets here, hence no street addresses... Makes getting directions here a pain in the tuckus.

Second, a little bit about my first week of teaching here at KICS.  To save time, I'll just make a list for you of some of my favorite and/or unique events from the past week:

1. Floris from Holland, fainted on Day 1

2. Ishyaka from Rwanda, spewed his lunch all over his desk and Word of the Day book on Day 5

3. Louise from Uganda, completely obvlious to the class going on around her, will randomly burst into song AND dance (seriously, during group work, instruction time, and silent reading, I will look over and see her mouthing words to herself and doing the cabbage patch)

4. Arnold from Rwanda, on his 4th grade interview sheet, listed "my new teacher" for the thing he liked most :) (Clearly, he's my little brown-noser, but I still love it!)

5. We made a "dream quilt" of our yearly goals, and Pazi from Italy wrote: 

"I would like to build a brand new creation.  It will be a floating boat.  A small one of wood." and drew an accompanying picture.  

I'm not quite sure why this tickled me so much.  It was just so cute, and I really hate to break it to him that this isn't quite a "new" creation.  It's been done before...

6.  Mrs. Tarja, the secretary from Finland who basically runs the school, told me her favorite movie is Finding Nemo.  I was ecstatic and we are best friends forever now.

All this, plus more has happened in the past week, including my computer cord basically blowing up, a behemoth gecko lurking in the pantry, and me unknowingly mooning the city of Kigali for about 10 minutes while walking home (apparently my skirt was tucked in the bottom of my backpack and I had no clue, so a lot of people walking behind me got a bit of a show... luckily, ever since elementary school and those monkey bars, I've worn bike shorts under skirts/dresses if I know I'll be doing stuff, or wearing the skirt/dress for an extended period of time... but still, how embarassing).

And of course, being a first year teacher who doesn't have internet (or consistent hot water and electricty) at her house, I have yet to leave the school before dark each day, and with still no textbooks, lesson planning is really running my life (hence the title of this blog).  

But, of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

PS - Don't be impressed by my artistic endeavors from looking at that awesome signs up there.  One of the middle school students here did it for me...

Be True To Your School

Well, it's official! I'm a teacher.  

Monday was our first day of school here in Kigali at Kigali International Community School (KICS). I was calm, cool and collected as the moment approached when those little young minds would enter my classroom and we would embark on a year of learning, love, and laughter together.

HA.

Lies, all lies... Well, at least the part about “calm, cool and collected”. But doesn't it sound like something that would be in Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul or something like that?

I was not calm, cool, or collected in the least bit while awaiting my first day as a teacher. The entire weekend before, I would randomly break into a panic-y sweat, and start thinking about how terrible a teacher I might be, and how my kids would hate learning and grow up to be criminals or hoodlums of some sort because their 4^th grade teacher turned them off from learning forever. And on top of that stress, we moved into our new house on Sunday afternoon and were confronted with quite the number of repairs/fixin's that needed to be taken care of. Needless to say, I did not get that much sleep the night before my first day (partly because it was the night before my first day of teaching, and partly because right before I went to bed a cockroach the size of a water buffalo scurried across my floor).

The next morning, I was anxiously waiting in my class and arranging and re-arranging the supplies on my desk as 8:00 approached. When it was finally time to let the kiddos in and start our day and year together, I was a ball of pure nerves. As soon as they entered the classroom though, an incredible peace fell over me. I thought “Of course. This is what I do, this is my niche. What was I really worried about? I'm where I'm supposed to be.” The first day went very well, and my kids are amazing. It was fun to be back in the classroom again, and by golly, they sure are cute!

I have 11 kids right now in my class, with another who will be arriving in a few weeks. The kids are from 10 different countries, and actually, since most of them have already moved around quite a bit, there are even more countries represented than that! I have America, Rwanda, Uganda, Eritrea, Kenya, England, Bolivia, Holland, Italy and Russia all in my little 4^th grade community! I love it!

We still don't have our textbooks in (yikes), so I'm having to kind of play it by ear and make it up as I go along this week. To be honest, I kind of like it like that, although I'm sure I will want a bit of direction soon... It is nice, though, to be able to get creative and make up my own Cady Curriculum for the time being. The school uses Texas state standards for the classrooms, so as long as I follow those, I'm good to go.

Although I'm enjoying my time here, and LOVING my class, it still is difficult to live in Africa, especially after being so used to, and fond of, the conveniences American life offers. Yesterday afternoon there were some electrical problems at the school, and a surge in electricity caused the power cord to my computer to blow. Up side is, my computer seems to be fine. Down side, I don't know when or where or how much it will be to get a new power cord. This is a bit frustrating as the blessed internet is one of my only ways with keeping in touch with you fine people, and I'm not sure when I will be able to use it or my computer. It also makes lesson planning and other school-related stuff quite a bit more challenging. There is one really good thing though – one of my roommates/colleague at school has the same computer as I do, so she is graciously allowing me to use her power cord when she isn't. I still won't have consistent use of a computer, most likely, but it sure does help! (I could still use some prayers though!)

So, all in all, it has been a good first week. Yesterday was fun, because we finally started getting our daily routine down, and instead of going over rules and procedures, we got into some of the content and started playing some fun games and getting work done. I know it's gonna be a good year, and God has really blessed this place. This will sound incredibly cheezy, but I really can't wait to see what He's got in store.

(Up at the top is me and el clase, and below are pictures of my room, before and after)

A chair is not a house, and a house is not a home

Guess what guys? We got one! We have a house in Kigali! I can tell you are as shocked as I am... It has been a very long and often frustrating process, but it looks like we finally have a place of our very own to live! And would you like to know how this came about? Well you're in luck – I'll tell ya right now, as it's a very interesting story.

Late last week, we set out once again to house-hunt, and see what we could find. The whole process took an entire day, and we still hadn't found anything. Many of the houses we saw were nice, and we considered taking them, but as soon as the landlord found out we were Americans, the prices sky-rocketed way out of our budget. This was annoying the first couple times it happened, but by the fifth time, we were pretty much steam-out-of-our-ears angry. It really was a type of prejudice that none of us had ever experienced first hand, and were having quite a hard time understanding how people could do that. By the end of the day, we still hadn't found a thing.The next day we went into town (where I bought some cool African cloth and had a skirt made, how indigenous am I??), and were walking around when we got a phone call from our wonderful headmaster Brian (who had been running around like a madman trying to find us a place to live, bless his lil heart) and found out there were 2 more houses we might be interested in that he was going to look at within the hour. He said he could go by himself and take pictures, so not everyone would have to go. Later that evening we all met up, and he showed us the pictures of the houses. They were both nice houses, and although neither really screamed perfection, they were perfectly acceptable, and we settled on one that was close to a missionary family we knew in Kigali. The down side would be that we couldn't move in until September 5th, a week after school started for us. We would have to mooch off some wonderful families until we could move in, and although these families are AMAZING, I'm sure having stranger houseguests for 2 weeks is no one's idea of a good time. None of us were overly thrilled, but we all were completely content, and just relieved to have finally found a house.

That is, until today.

Today, we found out that the landlord (surprise, surprise) had found out who we were, and increased the price by over $200/month. No thank you. We were all extremely frustrated at this point, and mere seconds from moving mattresses into our classrooms and putting up “God Bless This Home” signs. There really wasn't anything we could do, except pray. So that's what we did.

My roomies and I prayed for quite a while and began to feel so much more peaceful about the situation. We knew there was one more option for a house that we could look at that was still available, and while we weren't confident it would pull through, knew that whatever happened, God was in control.

We decided that instead of all of us going, just one should see it, and report back. The first grade teacher, Shannon, volunteered to go, so off she went. We are all so busy trying to get our classrooms ready for the year, we had plenty of stuff to do while she checked it out. When she returned, we all anxiously awaited her review. The tension in the air was thick, and the deafening silence before she began was thick with anticipation and shattered dreams (please note my sarcasm and overly dramatic sentiments here!)

But Shannon's huge grin told us it was good news. The house is only a seven minute drive from school, fully furnished, with rooms for all of us, and one to spare! Of course, we weren't sold yet, as we knew we'd heard this story before – the house is great, but the landlord is a Greedy Gus and wants as much moolah as he or she can get. So, then came the cool part. Once they had looked the house over, they (well, the real estate agent) called the landlord and told them we were interested. Now, this is usually the part where things get a lil' shady. But, thankfully, Someone was looking out for us :) The landlord is out of the country, so he's having a relative rent it for him. This relative happens to be the mom of several of the students at the school that all of us teachers happen to teach at! She was so sweet and sympathetic to our plight, and told us that she would not let anyone else look at the house if we wanted it, AND would call her relative and see if he would knock off $200/month of the rent!!!

Now how do you like them apples?!?

So, there ya have it. The landlord's relative is coming by the school tomorrow so we can sign the papers, and move in this weekend to our new house. Yet again, God is showing His power, and I will never ceased to be amazed by it.

We started our in-service this week, and working diligently in our classrooms to prepare for our students and the coming school year. It is quite the daunting task, and I have to admit, if I think about it too much, my hair will literally start to fall out by itself. But, I keep reminding myself that if I wasn't supposed to be here – I wouldn't be here. I am here for a purpose, and I truly could not be more thrilled about it.

I will write more soon about the school and my classroom (I love saying “my classroom”, I feel so grown up!) Love you all and keep in touch!

*My roommates and I are sure Dora the Explorer would have found us a house right away if she'd have been here. She can find anything!

Here I am baby, signed, sealed, delivered!

Well, here I am! This past week has been so surreal, it is unbelievable. It is simply too much to grasp that I actually live in AFRICA now. Boy-howdy, it's a doozy of a thing to grasp, I'll tell ya what!

I met up with many of the other new teachers at the airport in DC on Friday morning, and we all exchanged awkward, yet supremely excited, greetings and chatted non-stop about what we thought our new home might be like. It was so great to meet my new colleagues, and I can't wait to work with them this year! They all seem like completely amazing people!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon in the Kigali airport, after the longest flight none to man, to a wonderful welcome committee of various people affiliated with the school. I even met one of my future students!! We were taken to the hotel/apartments where we have been staying the past few days, and began to settle in. We were immediately impressed with the accommodations, but there were a few slight difficulties (no sheets/blankets on half the beds, no hot water in one of the bathrooms, dirty towels in the cupboards, only two working outlets, no “promised” Internet, and a broken lock on one of the outside doors), to which we were given the simple explanation “Hey, this is Africa!” Got it :)

We went to a local “Americanized” coffee shop that night, and to the Christ's Church Rwanda the next morning, despite our fabulous jet lag. The church service was wonderful, and we met soo many amazing and interesting people there! That afternoon, we all went house-hunting, but weren't incredibly impressed with the choices we were given. We were taken around by Brian Dolinger, our new headmaster, and the real estate agent, Dudu (yes, Dudu). The houses we were shown were insanely nice, and far more elegant than the average Rwandan home. As such, they were all crazy expensive, so we didn't settle on any of the ones shown.

That night, we hit the town, and went to this local restaurant that had a live jazz band. One of the musicians was a “mutual friend”, so we got to hear them play right up close. And wouldn't you know it? That Rwandan jazz band played some classic American tunes, including “ABC” by the Jackson 5, “Ain't No Sunshine” by Bill Withers (not James Taylor as one of the other teachers exclaimed :), and the hit “No Diggity” by Blackstreet circa 1998. Oh yes, 90's pop hits are international, as I should have known.

The next two days we were shown around Kigali. We got to set up bank accounts (a quick little 4 hour excursion), buy cell phones (Which you can call from America!! Ask me how!), and explore the busy life of downtown. The country is EXTREMELY densely populated (about 10 million people in a country the size of Maryland), the town is always hoppin', and there are always people everywhere! It was so fun to walk around and just be with the people! I love it!

Yesterday, we went first to the Genocide Memorial here in Kigali. This museum was one of the most amazing and heartbreaking places I've been too. The museum is full of some of the most moving exhibits I've ever seen, and was totally overwhelming. Outside are about 10 mass graves, where bodies of genocide victims lay who were never identified or claimed. Needless to say for those of you who know me, the tears were pretty incessant. I would highly recommend it to anyone who plans on visiting though (hint, hint!).

After that, we got to see some of the coolest organizations I've ever seen. One was an organization that trains Rwandan women in rural villages to make baskets and other crafts so that they can sell them to make money to support their families and villages. The baskets end up being sold all over the world, and bought by millions of people and companies (including Bono and Macy's). When we got there, we walked in to take a quick peek at the women making the baskets, but they invited us in, and a few of us ended up sitting down and helping them make some of the baskets! They were really sweet, and laughed a lot. At me or something else? Who knows! Kinyarwanda, the official language here is very, very complicated, and causes quite a few mis-communications, but hey, I'm here to learn, so I'll adapt!

After we left, we went to the headquarters of Cards From Africa (www.cardsfromafrica.com). This company gives child heads-of-households (usually orphans, many from the genocide, who have to take care of younger siblings instead of going to school) jobs making ADORABLE cards that can be shipped all over the world. They make everything from the paper to the cute little cut-out pictures. Not only are they given jobs in really good working conditions, the organization also provides spiritual and emotional support for the children and their families, which is highly needed. There are so many cool non-profits/N.G.O.'s like these here, and I hope I can get involved soon!

Today we went house shopping again, but still to no avail. We found a very nice one in a fun neighborhood not too far from the school that would give each of us that live there our own room, but as soon as we arrived and they saw a bunch of “muzungus” (white people/foreigners), the price sky-rocketed. So, I and my future roomies are asking for your prayers that we find the perfect place to live here in Kigali. I am completely confident that God will provide us with the most perfect place to live, but any extra words to the Big Guy would be appreciated!

Well, I could write forever about just the last few days, but since I'm pretty sure the only ones who read this far are my parents (Hi Mom and Dad!), I'll stop. I love and miss you all and would LOVE to hear from you!!! XOXO -Cady

Leavin' on a jet plane!

**This post was copied from a Word Document on a plane on August 14th :) **


Right now, I am sitting on a plane to Washington D.C., where after a measly 10 hour layover, I will board a plane to Ethiopia, and then on to Kigali, Rwanda. I am supposed to be in Kigali on Saturday the 16th in the afternoon, their time, but we'll see. We all know how airplanes are these days :) I said goodbye to family and friends this week, which seems a lot harder to do when you don't really know what lies ahead. I am much more “put together” when it comes to saying goodbye if I know for sure what's gonna come next. But since I don't, I wasn't. Put together, that is. I cried like a baby at the airport, and unfortunately, was still a trifle weepy when I boarded the plane, much to the discomfort of other passengers. Oh well, they can get over it. I'm much better now. I am trying to hold onto a child-like faith here, and give everything I have to God, since if it were any other way, I would totally lose it. I know I would not be here right now unless it was where He wanted me, so I my peace lies in that.

In DC, I get to see some “long lost friends”, hopefully, from high school, so I'm very excited about that too. My 10 hour layover is between the hours of 12 midnight and 10 am, making sight-seeing and really any activity a bit difficult. Luckily, Laura and Jared King are way too cool, and are sacrificing sleep and comfort to provide me with just a bit of company. Lucky me!

I'm not sure of the exact day I will start teaching, but it is roughly two weeks after I arrive in Kigali. Last I heard, I have 10 students in my class from 8 different countries!! I love it!!! I can not wait to meet them, and begin the year. Despite what the Cady from 4 months ago during student teaching might tell you, I really have been missing teaching the past few weeks, and am excited to be in a classroom again. One of my master teachers used a really cool curriculum using all cooperative learning called “Tribes” and I'm anxious to begin the same sort of thing in my own class. My suitcases were all significantly overweight, since I may have packed enough for an entire classroom, and then some.

Most of the other new teachers are all taking the same flight from DC tomorrow morning, so I am extremely excited to meet and get to know my new colleagues. I am even smiling as I write this just thinking about it! (Which may or may not be freaking out the passenger next to me)

Well, I should stop now. The man in front of me just leaned back in his chair and I can't really see the computer screen anymore. Love you all, and I hope to hear from you soon!!